Unit 5 Get to the ROOT of it!

Dictate—to speak to or read to a person who writes it down; to decree For your spelling test, I will dictate the words and you will write them down.

Contradict—to say the opposite of something that someone else has said; to deny the truth I knew my sister was exaggerating when she told the story, but I didn’t want to contradict her in front of her friends.

Edict—an official order given by a person with power or by a government The government issued an edict banning public protests and demonstrations.

Autobiography—a person’s life story written by that person In Helen Keller’s autobiography, she describes how she learned to speak.

Telegram—a message sent by telegraph and then delivered in written or printed form; sometimes referred to as a wire or cable Before the inventions of the phone and the internet, people sent telegrams to each other to communicate.

Calligraphy—the art of making beautiful handwriting Ben’s certificate for academic achievement was handwritten in ornate and beautiful calligraphy

Graphic—shown or described in a very clear way, used especially to refer to things that are unpleasant or shocking The scary, graphic movie gave me nightmares for weeks to come.

Inscription—words that are written on or cut into a surface The jeweler etched a beautiful inscription inside the couple’s wedding bands.

Transcript—a written, printed, or typed copy of words that have been spoken I have a transcript of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech

Prescription—a written message from a doctor that officially tells a patient what medicine to take When I got an ear infection, my doctor wrote me a prescription for antibiotics.